GOP effort to shift investigation stalls
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., on Thursday dismissed a proposal designed to defuse the Department of Justice’s criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The idea, floated by at least one Republican lawmaker, would have transferred oversight of the investigation from the DOJ to the Senate Banking Committee.
The move was seen as a political compromise. It would remove the immediate threat of prosecution against Powell while potentially smoothing the confirmation process for Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed him. Tillis has previously signaled he would block Warsh’s path forward as long as the DOJ investigation remains active.
Independence of the Fed at stake
Tillis made clear he would not support any arrangement that leaves an investigation hanging over the Federal Reserve chair. “We have to have an independent Fed. And we can’t finesse this,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill.
He insisted the administration must either proceed with what he called a compelling case or formally close the probe. “They either need to move forward with a compelling investigation that convinces me I was wrong, or resolve the current investigation and move on,” Tillis said.
No role for prosecution in Senate panel
Responding directly to the suggestion that the Senate Banking Committee could assume control of the matter, Tillis rejected the concept outright. “We do oversight, we don’t prosecute,” he said, underscoring what he views as a clear boundary between legislative review and criminal enforcement.
The proposal had been crafted to satisfy multiple constituencies: lawmakers wary of undermining the Federal Reserve’s independence and President Trump, who supports the Justice Department’s inquiry. But Tillis indicated that splitting the difference is not an option.
Warsh nomination in jeopardy
The standoff complicates the confirmation prospects of Kevin Warsh, who would need approval from the Senate Banking Committee before advancing. Tillis warned that without resolution of the Powell probe, he would block any successful markup of Warsh’s nomination.
“If that’s not resolved, I’m not going to allow a successful markup to occur,” Tillis said. He also suggested that Democratic support for Warsh is unlikely under current circumstances, further narrowing the pathway forward.
“And I believe that most Democrats are not going to vote for it, so I don’t see a path,” Tillis added, highlighting the political uncertainty surrounding both the investigation and the succession at the Federal Reserve.
